One thing I’m
liking very much about the part of Mexico we’re visiting is the somewhat quiet,
almost neighborhood-like nature of it. Playa
del Carmen has narrow, cobblestoned streets (complete with absolutely
killer, no-playing-around speed bumps
every half-mile or so, which force a car to bounce down/up/down/up at about 10
mph…making good and sure everyone slows down and watches for the many
pedestrians). There are maybe a dozen resorts, and a plethora of small houses
for rent to vacationers as well. Cars, taxis, and shuttles actually have to
pass by a guard checkpoint to enter
the area—and the boys recently noticed that those in charge of stopping
vehicles…have machine guns at their disposal. There always seem to be people
walking, jogging, and bicycling along the tree-lined avenues. It just feels like
a safe and non-party-animal kind of place to hang out. (i.e: NOT Cancun!) We’ve
noticed quite a variety among our fellow holiday-goers as well: couples (both
younger and older), groups of friends, families with children of all ages.
To begin
today’s entertainment, we had decided to amble to the Plaza Central in our after-breakfast time. (Because really, what’s
better to settle the stomach than…shopping
for souvenirs? Eh, we’re tourists, we can act like it, right?) And it was,
as expected, a total “take the suckers for all their American dinero” kind of
place. But that didn’t stop us from meandering in and out of the stalls and
storefronts, picking through the made-in-China junk, in search of something at
least a little bit authentic to
remind us of our viaje a Mexico. At
every turn, we were accosted by (smiling-but-pushy) salespeople trying to rope
us into a tour of some kind. We rapidly got very practiced at the friendly wave,
accompanied by a firm “no, gracias.” But
one guy did make us laugh when he grinned at us, pointed at Riley and asked, “How
much for the little one?” (Um…”no…gracias?”) And another man tried to get our
attention by calling, “Hey, where you from?” When we declined to respond, he
started guessing: “Poland? England? Canada? Russia?” WHAT? I know we’ve been diligent and thorough with the sunscreen in the blazing Mexican sun…but
just how pale are we?
Anyway, the
boys did eventually choose small mementos to bring home, and we pounded the
pavement for several miles in for our first walk of the day. Not bad for a
morning’s work—I mean “recreation”!
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